Which of these do you know?

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Despite our well-acclaimed (sometimes rigid) education system and world-renowned Changi Airport, Singapore may not necessarily excel when it comes to producing quality brands that perform on the world stage. However, with National Day just around the corner, we did some probing and found some local household names that have gone on to do bigger things beyond this island-state. These brands have muscled their way through the bigger players within their industry to build a name for themselves and simultaneously put Singapore on the world map.

2. Tiger Beer

The brown bottle, blue label beer was the first ever of its kind produced from Singapore and needs no introduction of its successes overseas. When Singapore’s pioneering commercial brewery, Malayan Breweries wanted to come up with an Asian brew of Blond beer that was refreshing enough to beat the Little Red Dot’s heat, the well-loved beverage was born. During the Japanese World War, allied troops in Singapore continue to savour the taste of Tiger, spreading the word of this Singaporean brew. While Singapore navigated her way through independence, Tiger Beer braved the storms and produced its first canned beer in 1965. With the great support back home, the company eventually made its way to global, unfamiliar markets in the United Kingdom and Germany in 1981 before targetting Vietnam and China as potential markets in 1993. Though the younger generation may prefer wheat beer to this local brew of malt barley, there is no denying that Tiger who began in the 1930s and has made headways into more than 60 countries globally is something Singaporeans can be proud of.